On 27th August, MMXXVI, discover a lost Asterix album – The Golden Menhir, a full colour album written by the character’s co-creator, René Goscinny, in 1967, with illustrations by Albert Uderzo, published in English for the first time.
This isn’t, we should emphasise, a comic strip, rather an illustrated story, nicely presented in paperback, at the same size as the Asterix albums.
Next month, Sphere are celebrating the 100th anniversary of celebrated French creator of beloved brand Asterix (and many more), René Goscinny. Alongside this, on 27th August, they also will be publishing a ‘lost’ Asterix album written by Goscinny himself in 1967 – and remarkably, this will be the first time this unseen album will be published in English since his death in 1977.
The Golden Menhir, available to preorder now, an illustrated story rather than comic strip, was originally only released as book-disc in 1967, and soon became a rare treasure, long out of print. This is an unprecedented chance for fans to see this Goscinny-penned Asterix story for the first time in print in English, previously only ever published in album format in Swedish, some years ago.
It’s (of course) a hilarious tale involving Cacofonix (known in French as Assurancetourix) entering the legendary Gallic bards’ competition to win the golden menhir. But with the Romans keeping a close watch, Asterix and Obelix must protect him at all costs.
Their mission? Keep him safe-no matter what… even if it means risking their own ears!
Written by the brilliant René Goscinny and brought to life by Albert Uderzo’s stunning illustrations, this lost gem is a must-rediscover for Asterix fans everywhere.
René Goscinny was born in Paris in August 1926, and spent most of his childhood in Argentina, before eventually moving to Paris in 1951. He died in 1977. Albert Uderzo, illustrator of Asterix, who passed in 2020, wrote many stories after Goscinny’s death, the mantle passed to a new team, writer Jean-Yves Ferri and artist Didier Conrad, in 2013, with Fabcaro taking over on script for Asterix and The White Iris, released in 2023, and Asterix in Lusitania (2025)
Goscinny and Uderzo’s legacy is incredible. Asterix lives in the pantheon of the comic book world. The series has been translated into more than 100 languages and dialects, is a bestseller in 70 of those, and sold more than 400 million copies worldwide. It’s spawned animated cartoons, live action movies and its own theme park.
2025 saw the debut of Asterix & Obelix: The Big Fight on Netflix, directed by Alain Chabat. Stream simultaneously in 190 countries, it was dubbed into 39 languages, including Arabic, Dutch, English, Korean, Croatian, Hebrew, Mandarin and even Telugu!
• The Golden Menhir by René Goscinny, Albert Uderzo | Published by Sphere on the 27th August 2026 | Available in Hardback and eBook | ISBN: 978–1408734933 (Hardback) | AmazonUK Affiliate Link | UK Bookshop.org Affiliate Link
Do note, this is not a comic strip, rather an illustrated tale. We have updated this item to clarify this
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John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.
He’s the writer of comics such as Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs”, with Dave Hailwood.
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Ah. I was initially excited to read about this as I’ve really not enjoyed the new Asterix books – especially the one with the aliens. But a prose text story doesn’t quite have the same appeal.
Thanks very much for publicizing this wonderful find. I stopped following Asterix when Uderzo retired from writing, but the best books were those written by Goscinny. I was happy to discover that this new book is also available in German (as “Der Goldene Hinkelstein“). For those who can read them, the German Astérix translations are much better than the English versions.